SANTA ANA – A fiscal crisis. The desire for transparency in government. Transportation and housing needs.

Santa Ana and Phoenix have in recent years shared a number of these same issues.

And now, the stage is set for the city manager of Phoenix, David Cavazos, to become the next city manager of Santa Ana.

The Santa Ana City Council will vote Monday whether to approve a three-year, renewable contract with Cavazos to lead city government.

Cavazos, 53, would leave a city where he has worked for more than 25 years, starting as a management intern.

In government circles, he's gained a reputation for innovation, and helping his city weather a recession in a way that it was able to meet its obligations to residents.

"He's done a very good job of managing the city through difficult times," said Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton. "We have a sometimes divided council. He did a good job working with all sides, staying neutral, and that's something I admired as mayor."

Members of the Santa Ana City Council say he was their unanimous, top choice.

The Santa Ana City Council on Monday will consider approving a three-year employment agreement with Cavazos, which would become effective Oct. 21. Under terms of the contract, which includes automatic renewals, Cavazos would receive $315,000 in an annual base salary the first year, plus benefits, including moving expenses and a housing allowance. According to a city report, the estimated first-year cost of the agreement is $558,625, $515,395 in the second year and $515,895 in the third. He'd succeed Kevin O'Rourke, interim city manager.

"He's very qualified," said Councilwoman Angelica Amezcua. "From the candidates we interviewed, he stood out with his background and experience. We wanted the best for the position. We all felt he definitely stood out above all the other candidates."

She said council members noted his experience working in a much larger city, while many in the pool of 64 candidates lacked experience working with a city of Santa Ana's size. A plus, she said, was his bilingual ability.

Cavazos would be the first Latino city manager the city of Santa Ana has had, city officials say.

"For us, a big element he possesses is his belief in transparency," said Mayor Pro Tem Sal Tinajero. "The belief in open government is something that we have worked hard to cultivate here. The other item that really stood out was his ability to bring back Phoenix from a budget deficit, and his ideas to do that. He will have the know-how to increase our stability in the city of Santa Ana."

Tinajero said that Cavazos had developed a good relationship with a diverse community and council.

"He is able to build bridges between communities so that everyone works together for the common good," Tinajero said.

Stanton said that Cavazos is responsive and professional. City leaders also noted his involvement in the community through such activities such as Phoenix Children's Hospital, where he's immediate past chairman, and the Cesar Chavez Foundation, which has a Phoenix office.

The mayor said he and the city manager visited nearly 100 businesses together, trying to determine what they needed to grow and increase hiring. Cavazos also worked to keep water prices down, and advocated an expansion of the city's light-rail system, using local rather than federal dollars.

"He's a business-like guy. He makes tough choices," the mayor said. "That's what we hired him to do, to make tough choices and to make tough recommendations. He is business-like, and I say that in a good way."

When Cavazos stepped into the city manager's position in Phoenix, the city faced a $277 million budget deficit. “He helped launch a major fiscal turnaround, resulting in a structurally balanced budget in just two years,” a city of Santa Ana statement said.

Cavazos established an Innovation and Efficiency Task Force, which generated $59.7 million in annual savings, a 2012 report said. He set a total savings goal of $100 million by 2015. He also noted in a 2010 report that the city received an award for transparency, conducted 10 to 15 community budget hearings annually and that he had begun delivering a monthly memo for the City Council focusing on budget issues.

In Phoenix, Cavazos was responsible for managing a $3.6 billion budget. Santa Ana has a general fund budget for 2013-14 of $205.7 million

"His number one strength was a real focus on creating efficiencies, doing more with less," Stanton said.

According to his web page in the city of Phoenix website, the city under his tenure also initiated a strategic plan to determine how to best allocate city resources, and developed an ongoing organizational review process which has led to a reduction in management layers and enhanced service delivery, resulting in the smallest government in Phoenix in 40 years.

Nevertheless, his service in Phoenix hasn't been without controversy.

The Arizona Republic reported in 2006 that Cavazos was among a half dozen city employees who were suspended for violating city travel policies.

At the time of the five-day suspension, Cavazos was an acting deputy city manager. Most of his travel charges were incurred while he was at the Aviation Department, where he had served as both acting aviation director and assistant aviation director. At issue were international airline fares incurred by department employees who flew business class to Europe and Asia. Cavazos said he had reimbursed the city $911.76 in expenses.

"The major issue was the business class (travel)," he said in a 2009 story in The Republic, when he was hired as city manager. "We as public servants need to realize that the public expectation in that case was we should be flying coach, and we didn't do that. And when we didn't do that, people were disappointed...Nobody has been more pained than me, the humiliation, the embarrassment."

Cavazos was at the center of another controversy last year when the City Council voted to increase his pay by $78,000.

Employee unions protested the move, saying Cavazos should not see a large pay hike when a hiring freeze remained in effect for police officers, and city employees hadn't had their pay and benefits fully restored after taking a cut three years earlier, The Republic said.

The increase raised Cavazos' annual salary to $315,000, not including a car allowance, longevity bonus and deferred compensation.

City Council members said the increase was justified because Phoenix paid its manager substantially less than cities of comparable size, and noted that he had led his city through a fiscal crisis and increased efficiency.

"His commitment to his employees and to the taxpayer allowed him to negotiate peaceful agreements that led to closing the $270 million deficit he inherited when he took the job as manager" said Councilman Michael Nowakowski. "I am very sorry to see him go."

The City Council meets at 5:45 p.m. Monday in its chamber at 22 Civic Center Plaza. Call 714-647-6520.

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